Tie rack



B. G. CABE Feb. 6, 196-8 TIE RACK 7 Filed May 16, 1966 A m6 We U l B ATTORNEY .FIG. 2

United States Patent O 3,367,509 TIE RACK Billy G. Cabe, 2105 Rosewood Road, Decatur, Ga. 30032 Filed Why 16, 1966, Ser. No. 550,216 3 Claims. (Cl. 211--87) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A tie rack as disclosed herein comprises a generally rectangular flat base plate arranged for vertical mounting and having formed or mounted in rows thereon a plurality of support pedestals each of which is provided with a horizontal support edge over which a hooklike clip of a tie is disposed so as to take the weight of the tie. A holding and positioning ledge is mounted above each row of support pedestals and is constructed and arranged in a downwardly protruding fashion so as to overlie the positioning prongs of the ties disposed immediately below the ledge. Thus each tie is secured against vertical movement but is readily removable in a sidewise direction following inward movement of the tie toward the base plate.

This invention relates to tie racks and more particularly to a rack for supporting and displaying ties having a central clip and a pair of generally transversely disposed prongs, the clip being receivable by a part of the tie rack so as to support the weight of the tie and the tie prongs being arranged to cooperate with a positioning element of the tie rack so as to maintain a desired orientation of the tie relative to the rack and also to prevent dislodgment of the tie from the rack in a generally vertical direction.

An attractive display of items at the point of sale is desirable from the merchandising standpoint and also enables the purchaser quickly to see and appraise the displayed items. One disadvantage of displaying small items such as consumer items at the point of sale is that the customer tends to rearrange the items into a state of disarray and in this manner some of the advantages of the display are nullified.

A principal object of this invention is to provide an improved rack which is particularly adapted for displaying small consumer items such as ties and which is specially constructed so as to prevent dislodgment of the displayed items from the rack and which also allows removal of the items by one who is familiar with the procedure required for removal but which inhibits removal of the displayed item by one not familiar with the necessary removal procedure.

Another object of the invention is the provision of an improved tie rack which is simple in construction and which therefore is economically feasable for private use as well as for use in haberdasheries and the like as a display device.

The invention in one form as applied to a tie rack for removably supporting a tie having a central supporting clip and a pair of generally laterally disposed positioning prongs comprises a generally vertically disposed base plate having a support pedestal mounted thereon, a support edge formed in the support pedestal and arranged to receive the tie clip and thereby to support the weight of the tie, and a holding and positioning ledge afiixed to the base plate immediately above the pedestal and in spaced relation thereto, the ledge being arranged to overlie the transversely disposed tie prongs and the spacing of the ledge above the pedesetal being such that inadvertent dislodgment of the tie from the rack is unlikely and so that removal therefrom is possible by one familiar with the required procedure but which is unlikely by one who is 3,367,509 Patented Feb. 6, 1968 not familiar with the motion required to remove the tie manually from the rack.

For a better understanding of the invention reference may be had to the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a tie rack embodying the invention and in which FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional View taken along the line designated 22 in FIG. 1.

With reference to the drawings, the numeral 1 is used to designate the base plate on which a trim ledge 2 is formed. A plurality of apertures 3 preferably are formed in the base plate 1 and are for the purpose of receiving supporting hooks, screws and the like whereby the base plate 1 is mounted to a wall or other supporting means. Mounted on or forming a part of base plate 1 is a plurality of support pedestals designated by the numeral 4. A support edge 5 defines the front wall of a slot like cavity 5a formed in pedestals 4. Disposed immediately above each row of pedestals 4 is a positioning and holding ledge 6 having a mounting part 7 and a downwardly inclined part 8.

Of course the pedestals 4 and the ledges may be formed separately and thereafter permanently secured by any suitable means to the base plate 1 or, if desired, the ledges 6 and pedestals 4 may be integrally formed with the base plate 1.

In the drawing a tie is designated by the designation T. One such tie comprises as is well known a central hooklike clip designated by the numeral 9 and a pair of transversely disposed prongs designated by the numerals 10. Of course as is well known the central clip 9 is arranged to hook over the front part of the collar band of the wearer while the transversely disposed prongs 10 are arranged to slip underneath the front edges of the collar and hence are not observable when so positioned. The transverse prongs serve to position the tie in a generally vertical relationship and also prevent upward dislodgment of the tie from the wearers collar button.

In accordance with this invention, the central tie clip 9 is arranged to be received within the slot-like cavity 5a formed vertically in the rear surface of the supporting edge 5. Furthermore, the tie prongs 10 are arranged to be received underneath the downwardly inclined part 8 of the holding and positioning ledge 6.

Thus as is apparent particularly from FIG. 2, the weight of the tie T is taken by the support edge 5. Sidewise movement in a direction parallel to base plate 1 is prevented by the side walls of the slot-like cavity 5a in which the central clip 8 is mounted. The prongs 10 being underneath the downwardly inclined part 8 of holding and positioning ledge 6, hold the tie in a vertical position and prevent dislodgement of the tie from the rack in a generally vertical direction. The spacing of holding and positioning ledge 6 above its associated pedestal or pedestals 4 is such that removal of the tie is readily possible by one familiar with the required procedure. Thus the tie is simply grasped and moved inwardly toward the base plate 1 so as to move the central supporting clip 8 out of the slot-like cavity 5a. When this is done the tie may be moved in a generally horizontal direction parallel to the face of base plate 1 so that the tie may thus be readily removed either toward the right or toward the left. On the other hand inadvertent removal of the tie is not likely. Unless an individual were familiar with the required procedure he would find it difficult to remove the tie. A state of disarray is thus avoided in merchandise establishments and the like when the invention is employed.

It is obvious that the tie rack of this invention is suitable for personal home use.

While a particular embodiment of the invention has been shown and described, the invention is not limited thereto and it is intended in the appended claims to cover all such changes and modifications as fall within the true spirit and scope of the invention.

The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive property or privilege is claimed are defined as follows.

I claim:

1. A tie rack for removably supporting a tie having a central supporting hooklike clip and a pair of generally transversely disposed positioning prongs, said rack comprising a base plate arranged for generally vertical disposition, a support pedestal aflixed to said base plate on one face thereof, a continuous support edge formed on said support pedestal and arranged to receive the tie clip thereby to support the tie against downward movement but arranged to accommodate sidewise movement, and a holding and positioning ledge affixed to and forming an integral part of said base plate immediately above said support pedestal and in spaced relation therewith, said ledge being generally horizontally disposed and being arranged to overlie the prongs of the tie so as to position the tie vertically and also to prevent dislodgement of the tie clip from said support edge in a generally vertical di rection.

2. A tie rack according to claim 1 wherein said support edge forms a part of a side wall of an open-top vertically disposed clip receiving slot-like cavity formed in said support pedestal for receiving a part of said clip thereby to prevent sidewise movement of said clip and of the associated tie when normally supported in displayed position, said clip being movable toward said base thereby to disengage said cavity and accommodate sidewise removal of said clip and tie.

3. A tie rack according to claim 1 wherein said holding and positioningledge is provided with a downwardly inclined portion for receiving the tie prongs and for preventing movement of the prongs in a side-wise direction away from said base plate, said ledge being spaced sufficiently far above said support pedestal to accommodate easy manual movement and removal of the tie from the rack in a sidewise direction generally parallel to said base plate.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,387,639 10/1945 Bouchelle 206--8O 2,583,459 1/1952 Wyles 21113 3,168,197 2/1965 Sconza 211-13 3,191,777 6/1965 Willits 21 187 ROY D. FRAZIER, Primary Examiner.

W. D. LOULAN, Assistant Examiner. 

